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Only a decade after George Wallace stood in a schoolhouse door to prevent black students from entering, some of his supporters participated in the Conservative Political Action Conference. It’s fitting that today, CPAC exists to support President Donald Trump, a genuinely racist president—and one who, when he addressed CPAC on Friday, proposed a militarization of American schools that will disproportionately harm black students.

Trump received thunderous applause and repeated standing ovations. He returned to his greatest hits, including reliving his electoral college victory, promising to build a wall and calling the media “horrible people.” He also read a xenophobic poem that was a staple of his 2016 campaign, in which he refers to immigrants, especially Muslims, as vicious snakes who will inevitably turn on their protector.

Trump’s most significant new proposal, which he has rolled out in the days since a school shooter in Parkland killed 17 people, is to allow teachers to carry concealed weapons and to add surveillance and metal detectors to more schools. “Why do we protect our airports, banks, government buildings, but not our schools?” Trump said. If Parkland had adopted his proposal to arm educators, he continued, “a teacher would’ve shot the hell out him.”

The proposal to arm teachers is almost too outlandish to justify countering with data. But all the available evidence already shows there is widespread racism in school discipline even account for the same offenses. More generally, militarization of the police going back to the 1960s has always been about enforcing punishment on black communities, even when carried out under ostensibly liberal pretexts. There’s no reason to believe militarization of schools would be any different.

Trump’s speech was the climax of a CPAC defined by seething, spastic vitriol from nearly every featured speaker. National Rifle Association spokesperson Dana Loesch declared “many in the legacy media love mass shootings.” Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president and CEO of the NRA, claimed Democrats were conspiring to “eradicate all individual freedoms.” Ben Shapiro, the right-wing polemicist who recently received a glowing profile in The New York Times, repeated his familiar anti-transgender bigotry, to the delight of the audience. The anger was even more pronounced in the wake of the Parkland shooting, which was referenced regularly over the course of the conference.

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Trump repeatedly warned the crowd that if Democrats were elected they would repeal the Second Amendment, and at one point asked the attendees to cheer if they preferred the Second Amendment or tax cuts. It was a bizarre moment, one of many, but suffice to say the Second Amendment received very loud support. That defensive posture in the midst of a seeming sea change in the gun-control debate was not a coincidence, and a clear sign that the CPAC doesn’t see itself as responsible for the prevalence of mass shootings.

What makes the rancor especially absurd is that not only is the Republican Party in charge of the Executive Branch and both chambers of Congress, but, by all honest accounts, the Trump administration is succeeding in implementing a hyperconservative agenda. CPAC favorites Ted Cruz and Shapiro acknowledged that they had no substantive disagreements with Trump. Nevertheless, the entire event was defined primarily by victimhood and paranoia. The enemies are everywhere: Democrats, socialists, college professors, regulators, black athletes, reporters, “fake news,” the FBI. “They try like hell, they can’t stand what we’ve done,” Trump said ominously.

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None of that is surprising, of course. CPAC has always been a laboratory for cranks and grifters to test their particular formula of reactionary resentment. In earlier years, the secret sauce often looked like a Sarah Palin–style Evangelicalism. In the age of Trump, the formula is closer to a European-style ethno-nationalism that barely camouflages its nativism. Conservative pundit Laura Ingraham described this Friday morning as a “populist, forward-looking conservatism.”

Nowhere was that trend more obvious than in the attendance of Marion Marechal Le Pen, granddaughter to the founder of the French far-right National Front party , which is currently lead by Marion’s aunt, Marine Le Pen. Marion is more religious than her aunt, who has tried to obscure the party’s fascist goals, and has disavowed some of her grandfather’s most anti-Semitic remarks. Still, she has referred to herself as the “heir” to his political legacy. More troublingly, she has previously claimed she wanted to united the conventional conservatives in France with “Identitarians,” which includes racist white-nationalist groups.

Her speech was modestly attended, which was expected given her low profile in the United States, and consisted of exactly the kind of anti-Muslim rhetoric she’s known for. “Terrorism is only the tip of the iceberg,” she said about the Muslim community in France. “I’m not offended when I hear President Trump say America First. I want America First for the American people. I want Britain First for the British people. I want France First for the French people.”

“All I want is the survival of my nation,” she added.

Her presence was roundly criticized in the media and by observers of increasing levels of right-wing extremism in the United States and Europe. “I think that presenting Le Pen, [Nigel] Farage, and [Sebastian] Gorka as their European familiars betrays the party’s radicalization, as well as unprecedented US support for the European far right, with parallels to the Kremlin’s championing” far-right European parties, including Le Pen’s Front National, said Alexander Reid Ross, author of Against the Fascist Creep. “Even members of the US right seem concerned about Le Pen’s attendance, in light of her presence at a white-nationalist event in Paris last year and stated desire to bring fascists into mainstream French politics.”

The man responsible for inviting one of Europe’s rising crypto-fascists to the United States and introducing her to the CPAC audience is Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which organizes the conference. I interviewed Schlapp the day before the conference began, and what struck me the most was his was his refusal to accept responsibility for helping to normalize another far-right extremist.

When I asked him about Le Pen’s desire to unite traditional conservatives with Identitarians, he pleaded ignorance. “I don’t know if I’m a scholar in what an Identitarian is,” he told me. “We invite 150, 200 speakers every year. I’m not sure I would agree with any of them on every issue.”

Last year, Dan Schneider, the executive director of the ACU, gave a speech purportedly banishing the alt-right from CPAC. At the time, I called it a hollow disavowal of the white nationalists in CPAC’s ranks. Le Pen’s invitation reveals just how empty Schneider’s words really were.

Beyond Le Pen, who was more important as a symbol than an instrument of power, much of conference was defined by the Parkland school shooting from the previous week. Seventeen people were killed with an automatic weapon, and the subsequent response from the surviving students has lead to the most important national debate about gun control since the elementary-school shooting at Sandy Hook.

The NRA is a major sponsor of CPAC, and Schlapp’s organization supported the lapsing of an assault weapons ban in 2004. The expiration of the ban has lead to a “staggering” increase in gun massacres, according to a recent analysis in the Washington Post. But when asked about CPAC’s role in the unique scourge of US gun violence, Schlapp again evaded any responsibility. “I do not feel like I’m a part of the blame for why a mad man, or a bad man, perpetrated such an act of violence as this,” Schlapp told me. “I can’t be responsible for that.”

It matters who CPAC provides a platform to, because the dynamics of the Republican Party since 2010 are such that the most radical views are elevated and there is no incentive for elected officials to moderate their position. Safely gerrymandered districts expose elected Republicans to challenges from the right in a primary, while general election victories are assumed to be assured.

The party’s stance on immigration is a perfect example of this dynamic. Last year, Senators Tom Cotton and David Purdue introduced the RAISE Act, which would drastically cut legal immigration and overhaul the system as whole in an effort to slow the change in US demographics. The legislation was supported by NumbersUSA, a formerly fringe anti-immigrant think tank the SPLC has called a core element of the nativist lobby. The RAISE Act has now become widely accepted within the Republican Party, and Cotton played a central role in scuttling recent legislation that would have protected the undocumented young people known as Dreamers.

Schlapp, for his part, hedges on the RAISE Act. “ACU hasn’t taken a stance,” he told me, though he does favor changing to a merit-based system and is open to lowering numbers from their current level. “To me, immigration decisions should be fueled by what you need with your economy, what you need for your society, and not any other reason,” he said. “It shouldn’t be because you feel sorry for people.”

John KnefelTwitterJohn Knefel is an independent journalist covering national security and civil liberties. He is also the co-host of Radio Dispatch, a daily political podcast.

Is it rage they express, or is it a very loud and prolonged temper tantrum?

(5)(0)

Jenifer Wolfsays:

February 26, 2018 at 5:33 pm

& your diatribe against CPAC differs from their rants against the liberal establishment how?

(2)(16)

Lyn Fenexsays:

February 26, 2018 at 3:55 pm

There is an increasing body of scientific literature that correlates Conservative thinking to fear and negativity, like this article: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioral-and-brain-sciences/article/differences-in-negativity-bias-underlie-variations-in-political-ideology/72A29464D2FD037B03F7485616929560

(15)(0)

Patricia Boicesays:

February 26, 2018 at 1:22 pm

P.S. Plus, the author failed to report (unless I missed it) that conservative Mona Charen got booed at CPAC because she bravely disagreed with them.

(13)(0)

Patricia Boicesays:

February 26, 2018 at 1:17 pm

Just one point: The writer describes an article in a November 2017 NYT as writing a "glowing report" on Shapiro. I had to read that article, and I certainly didn't find it "glowing" at all. It appears Knefel exaggerated to make a point.

(4)(1)

Uma Krishnaswamisays:

February 26, 2018 at 12:55 pm

Trump has turned Oscar Brown Jr.'s The Snake into a xenophobic poem. In truth, it could be interpreted as a parable about Trump himself, and the nation that has foolishly taken him in. From way back in the days of the Trump campaign, the singer-songwriter's daughters have been calling on Trump to stop conflating their father's work with ideas he would have found utterly distasteful and disgusting. As usual, no one is listening. http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.3769348/oscar-brown-jr-s-daughter-wants-trump-to-stop-reading-her-dad-s-snake-lyrics-at-rallies-1.3771185

(16)(0)

Betsy Smithsays:

February 26, 2018 at 4:08 pm

Thank you for giving credit where credit is due. Oscar Brown, Jr. would be appalled at how the Racist-in-Chief has taken over his song. Here's a version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxVymZxekEw&list=RDTxVymZxekEw.

Everyone does seem to forget that on December 25th, 2016 the Fake Christians gave Donald a standing ovation when he entered the Holy Church celebrating Christ's Birth on that day. They did choose to ignore their First Four Commandments when they applauded a mere man, in Christ's House. He beamed as if he were the reason for them to be worshiping him. That gave him every reason to think he's better then Jesus Christ. That day the anti-Christ was given a standing ovation, look around our Nation to see how it's affected our lives.

(13)(1)

Sally Grossmansays:

February 26, 2018 at 11:36 am

Wow, at the moment I am watching a rerun of Australians at CPAC on C-SPAN. I watched it live last week. Malcolm Gladwell was wonderful. Many interesting speakers. I guess we watched different ...? Anyone actually watch the convention?

(1)(3)

Mary Baine Campbellsays:

February 26, 2018 at 11:35 am

Could the editor please fill in the sentence or sentences missing here, from the beginning of the article? "But all the available evidence already shows there is widespread racism in school discipline even account for the same offenses. "

(10)(0)

Warren Adams-ockrassasays:

February 26, 2018 at 11:26 am

They should be worried. They're a detestable nest of vipers, they've been exposed, and that exposure will lead to either a revolt at the ballot box, or a much more literal kind of revolt. Either way, the disempowerment of the "right" is coming, and they bloody well know it.

(16)(1)

Carl Schwartzsays:

February 26, 2018 at 1:33 pm

"I am Vladimir Putin. I am so proud that I was able to infiltrate my and my friends' monies into this group, buying two of the keynote speakers, Ms. LePen of the Front National and Mr. Farage of UKIP, using them to wreck their respective nations, the EU, NATO, and the western alliance. These so-called conservatives are so self-absorbed and stupid!"

(1)(3)

David Gurariesays:

February 26, 2018 at 9:44 pm

You're dimwit, Carl, on the level of Putin's thoroughbreds, or somewhat below

(2)(0)

Carl Schwartzsays:

February 26, 2018 at 1:31 pm

It would have been appropriate to serve this fecal scum a dose of Minnie's sweet-potato pie (à la "The Help"). Norovirus would have been sweet revenge indeed for these creeps who defecate out of their mouths!

(3)(3)

Nancy Lindsaysays:

February 26, 2018 at 7:27 am

“It shouldn’t be because you feel sorry for people.”
In other words, kindness and mercy are outlawed.

Let's see if I can sum up in my own words what this current crop of "Christian thought leaders" are telling me: It ain't worth it to feed a kid, it's okay to experiment on the terminally ill, poor and sick people are criminals, human life has no value, don't believe my "lying eyes", "war is peace" and only the rich can save us now.

Thomas Jefferson said-"A man without reason has no guard against absurdities". Reason has fled the scene and I don't know when it's coming back; probably not in my lifetime, sad to say.

(29)(1)

Walter Pewensays:

February 24, 2018 at 10:28 am

CPAC is so much like a tent revival I'm always slightly fascinated from year to year who dares approach and appears at it. Generally, it seems now days anyone who wants to be in the glittering circles of the grifter circus the Right has become in this country.
What amazes me is how there is absolutely no aura of respect to this event, yet it seems to wield power. If any human event could literally smell like rotten organic odor through electronic media, this one would be it.
It not only looks like a downer, no matter what the ideology, I cannot imagine the experience of anyone actually attending. These days it's just about killing off a third or so of the American populace.

(21)(1)

James Saulinosays:

February 23, 2018 at 11:53 pm

Donald Trump is and always has been a rattlesnake. That some (but not all, by any means) in the progressive news circles seem baffled by Trump's "unorthodox" approach to politics is astounding.
It's high time that Donald Trump gets called out for his anti-human, anti-everything-progressive dangerous antics. The sooner he gets impeached and disposed of the better off the USA and the rest of the world will be.
We Americans will then be saddled with the problem of whom and what to replace him with.

(28)(1)

Albert Berarduccisays:

February 26, 2018 at 2:00 pm

With impeachment, white nationalist autocracy would give way to Evangelical Christian theocracy and then to Ayne Randian libertarianism. If alive today, Laurel & Hardy would rightly conclude, “This is a fine mess we’re in”.